Department for Transport

Cycling: Safety

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider withdrawing the latest THINK video, which warns cyclists about the dangers of left-turning lorries, and replace it with a video warning lorry drivers not to overtake cyclists and to hang back instead of turning left across them.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The THINK! cycle safety campaign ended on 23 October 2016 and we have ceased promoting the ‘Things you shouldn’t get caught between’ film. The aim of the film and wider THINK! campaign is to cut road casualties. Our goal is to make sure that all road users take responsibility for their own safety. The film was just one element of a wider campaign aimed at cyclists, HGV drivers and motorists. The film showed a cyclist undertaking a lorry to highlight the danger of getting caught between a lorry and a left turn. It was developed after research showed that 35% of people who ride bikes thought it was not at all or only a little dangerous to position yourself to the front left of an HGV – an area where 94% of cyclist fatalities happen. The message for cyclists to ‘hang back’ refers to a very specific manoeuvre when a lorry ahead is turning left – an area where a third of collisions between HGVs and cyclists happen. It provided simple advice to help cyclists avoid finding themselves in a potentially dangerous situation. It also showed that even if a cyclist feels safe to undertake, a driver might make an error that could cause potentially fatal consequences. To ensure we deliver the best value for money, we use specific communication channels to target different audiences with different messages. We worked closely with the Freight Transport Association (FTA), Transport for London, and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to target HGV drivers, and advise them on what steps they need to take to avoid a collision with a cyclist. This included messages such as taking extra time to look out for cyclists and giving cyclist space at junctions. For motorists, we developed a series of tips about what drivers can do to look out for cyclists. Highlighting the dangers of left turning vehicles is an important issue to communicate. The campaign generated national media coverage and wide spread debate about the issue – among cyclists, motorists and pedestrians. The number of cyclists killed on our roads has fallen to its lowest level on record. But we can never be complacent. THINK! has a responsibility to look at how we can influence behaviour to help bring casualty figures down further. Any death is a tragedy and if a death can be prevented by raising awareness of this key issue we stand by our decision to do so. An independent research agency will review the impact of the campaign on people’s attitudes and claimed behaviour. We will use this, and the feedback we have received to inform future campaign activity.

Driving: Mobile Phones

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have conducted, and what discussions they have had with mobile phone providers, about the inclusion of software in mobile phones that would automatically shut phones down when a person is driving.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government’s Road Safety Statement published in December 2015 committed to increase the fixed penalty notice for using a mobile phone when driving. A public consultation closed in March 2016 and the response published 8 November 2016. Legislation to increase the fixed penalty notice to 6 points (from 3 points) was laid before Parliament on 8 November. The fixed penalty fine will increase to £200 (from £100). The new rules are expected to come in in spring 2017 accompanied by a THINK! Campaign to alert drivers to the new rules and raise awareness of the danger of using a mobile when driving. Specifically regarding drive safe modes on mobile phones, no government research has been commissioned but we are aware of the RAC Foundation report published in August. It explored how drive safe modes were being considered as part of product design for both vehicles and devices. The government will shortly be meeting with the mobile phone providers and manufacturers to consider drive safe modes, or other practical applications, when a person is driving.

Dangerous Driving

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to review the law relating to being found not guilty by reason of insanity of the crime of causing death by dangerous driving with a view to implementing an automatic driving ban until the defendant can show through medical evidence that they are a sane and fit person to drive.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Drivers are required to report any medical condition to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). DVLA has a responsibility to investigate the health of a driver on receipt of information that suggests that they may have a medical condition which affects their ability to drive safely. The DVLA will decide whether a driver should be disqualified for medical reasons. The Ministry of Justice has recently announced a consultation: Driving Offences and Penalties relating to Causing Death or Serious injury.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Services: Finance

Baroness McDonagh: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they are using to determine how funds for social care to which local authorities have access will be allocated over the remainder of this Parliament.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Local authorities receive general unringfenced revenue funding to support service delivery, including adult social care, through the local government finance settlement. The government has made a four year funding settlement offer for this Parliament that has been accepted by 97 per cent of councils.We are also providing up to £3.5 billion additional funding for social care by 2019-20 through a new 2 per cent social care precept and the Improved Better Care Fund. The government consulted on the distribution of the improved Better Care Fund as a part of the local government finance settlement 2017 - 2018 technical consultation. The consultation closed on 28 October and we are currently analysing the responses.

Social Services: Finance

Baroness McDonagh: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities will receive resources from the Better Care Fund in order to provide social care.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Spanning the National Health Service and local government, the Better Care Fund creates a single local pooled budget to promote the integration of health and social care services. All upper tier authorities with responsibility for adult social care benefit from the Better Care Fund. In 2015-16, local areas pooled £5.3 billion under the Better Care Fund in 2015-16, including £1.5 billion above the mandated minimum.The government consulted on the distribution of the additional funding from the improved Better Care Fund which comes in from 2017-18 as a part of the local government finance settlement 2017 - 2018 technical consultation. The consultation closed on 28 October and we are currently analysing the responses.

Home Ownership Incentive Schemes

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of take-up, and effectiveness, of (1) the Help to Buy, (2) the Starter Homes, and (3) other shared ownership, schemes.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Help to Buy: Equity Loan has been available across England since April 2013. It is intended to increase housing supply and promote home ownership and in particular it can help homeowners who cannot afford a large deposit but can afford regular mortgage payments. The scheme offers an equity loan of up to 20 per cent (up to 40 per cent in London) and enables people to buy a home with a deposit as low as 5 per cent. Across England, over 91,000 households have purchased a home through the scheme to end June 2016, of which 81 per cent were first-time buyers. In the 2016 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor confirmed continued support for home ownership through the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme.Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee has been available across the United Kingdom since October 2013. It enables people to purchase a home with an 80-95 per cent mortgage. Across the United Kingdom, over 86,000 households have purchased a home through the scheme to end June 2016, with 79 per cent of sales to first-time buyers. Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee was introduced as a temporary intervention to increase the availability of high loan-to-value loans, following a drop off in the years after the financial crisis. The Bank of England Financial Policy Committee’s annual assessment of the scheme in September 2016 confirmed that the scheme had been successful in returning confidence to the mortgage market and it is due to close to new loans at the end of December 2016.Help to Buy: ISA is available across the United Kingdom and enables people to save toward their first home. The government offers a 25 per cent bonus on savings, up to a maximum of £3,000 bonus. Over 15,000 Help to Buy: ISA bonuses have been claimed to the end of June 2016, which has supported more than 11,000 home purchases.We are committed to building starter homes with a minimum 20 per cent discount for first-time buyers between the ages of 23 and 40 to help them into home ownership. Over the last twenty years, the proportion of under 40 year olds who own their home has fallen by over a third from 61 per cent to 38 per cent. We have made strong progress on delivery, through the Housing and Planning Act, planning reforms, and working through the Homes and Communities Agency to deliver the first starter homes. We expect the first starter homes to start being built in 2017.Help to Buy: Shared Ownership enables people to part-buy, part-rent a home, starting with a minimum 25 per cent share, with the option of moving up to 100 per cent ownership. Since 2010, around 45,000 new Shared Ownership homes have been delivered.

World War II: Genocide

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 14 September (HL Deb, col 1457), whether they will provide more details regarding how the genocide of the Roma people will be commemorated in the Holocaust memorial.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Holocaust Memorial designs will remain true to the vision of the Prime Minister's Holocaust Commission by appropriately representing the Holocaust and all victim groups persecuted by the Nazis. In addition, there will be a full consultation around the design competition and we would encourage the Roma community to be part of this.

Housing and Planning Act 2016

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which sections of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 are not yet in force; and when they intend to bring those sections into force.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The following sections of the Housing & Planning Act 2016 are not yet in force:Sections 1-8Sections 13-63Sections 92-123Sections 125-126Sections 128-129Section 131Sections 133-136Section 138Section 151Section 155Sections 157-160Sections 180 & 181Sections 184- 189Sections 191- 200Sections 207- 211Schedules 1-9Schedule 11Schedules 13 & 14Schedules 17-20The process for laying further regulations will continue throughout 2017.

Housing and Planning Act 2016

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, (1) which orders and regulations have been made or have been laid before Parliament, and what is their timetable for laying further orders and regulations; and (2) which powers to make orders and regulations (i) they intend not to use at the current time, and (ii) they have decided not to bring into force.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The following Housing & Planning Act 2016 orders and regulations have been made or laid before Parliament:Statutory Instruments:Self-build and custom housebuildingEnfranchisement and extensions of long leaseholds rentchargesNeighbourhood planningLocal planningLocal Planning Authority performanceThe Energy performance of buildingsCommencement Orders:Part 1: New Homes in Englando Self-build and custom housebuildingPart 3: Recovering abandoned premises in Englando Vacant higher value local authority housingPart 6: Planning in Englando Neighbourhood planningo Local planningo Planning in Greater Londono Powers for piloting alternative provision of processing serviceso Review of minimum energy performance requirementso Urban development corporationso New townso Sustainable drainagePart 7: Compulsory purchase etco Right to enter and survey landPart 9: GeneralThe current timetable for regulations within the Housing & Planning Act 2016 will see the remaining regulations scheduled to be laid throughout 2017.2) We have decided not to proceed with the High Income Social Tenants regulations after listening carefully to the views of tenants, local authorities and others. Local authorities and housing associations will continue to have local discretion. I updated the House on the 21st November on this policy.

Right to Buy Scheme: Housing Associations

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 28 November (HL3302), what discussions they are having with local authorities as the funders of the Right to Buy scheme.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: At Autumn Statement 2016, the Chancellor announced a large-scale regional pilot of the voluntary Right to Buy, which will be funded by the government.In terms of the main scheme, we have engaged closely with local authorities in the development of how we fund the extension of Right to Buy to housing association tenants. We are considering how the policy will be implemented under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and will continue to engage with local authorities and other stakeholders as we develop the detail.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Plutonium

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the decision on a long-term plan for the UK’s plutonium stockpile will be made.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is committed to dealing with the inventory of separated civil plutonium in the UK. We continue to work closely with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to ensure the consolidation of the material at Sellafield and its long-term safe and secure storage, and to plan, develop and subsequently implement a final disposition solution. The NDA has provided advice on the disposition options and has funding for further work in this area. Only when the Government is confident that a disposition solution can be implemented safely and securely, in a way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed.

Climate Change

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 26 June 2013 (WA139) and the briefing paper by the Chief Scientist of the Met Office Statistical Models and the Global Temperature Record, cited in the Written Answer, in the light of the use of such models in textbooks, as well as in over a hundred research papers, why they consider integrated models for the global temperature series to be inappropriate; and why the linear trend model that is studied in the briefing paper is not also considered to be inappropriate.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: As detailed in the briefing paper Statistical Models and the Global Temperature Record by the Chief Scientist of the Met Office, neither integrated nor linear models incorporate knowledge of physical processes that affect global temperature change. Therefore, for a full picture of the science behind our changing climate, we do not rely solely upon statistical tests to assess changes in climate, but also use our physical understanding of how the climate system works embedded in our physical climate simulations.

Energy

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish a further update to their Community Energy Strategy; and if so, when.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is engaging with stakeholders to explore next steps for community and local energy in the context of the forthcoming Emissions Reduction Plan.The Government has no current plans to publish further updates to the Community Energy Strategy, originally published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in 2014.

Community Energy Contact Group

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings of the Community Energy Contact Group there have been this year; and whether the minutes of those meetings have been published online.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Community Energy Contact Group met with officials from the Department of Energy and Climate Change in May and July 2016.The record of the meetings will shortly be published online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/community-energy-contact-group

Solar Power

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many community energy photovoltaic (PV) installations have been installed each year since 2012; what capacity has been produced by those installations in each of those years; and how much community energy solar PV installations are projected to produce in 2017.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Department provides quarterly updates on the number of and capacity of installations within the Feed-in Tariff scheme registered as communities and schools. These reports are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-and-school-feed-in-tariff-statisticsIt should be noted that these statistics may be incomplete because it is not a requirement for a community group or school to identify itself, unless it applies for a specific benefit available to community groups or schools registered as such. We do not hold information on community solar PV installations developed outside of the Feed-in Tariff scheme.



Community & School FiT statistics
(Excel SpreadSheet, 23.82 KB)

Energy

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impacts on the growth of community energy projects of changes to the Feed-in Tariff scheme and the removal of tax relief for such projects.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Department provides quarterly updates on the number of and capacity of installations within the Feed-in Tariff scheme registered as community groups and schools. These are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-and-school-feed-in-tariff-statisticsIt should be noted that these statistics may be incomplete because it is not a requirement for a community group or school to identify itself, unless it applies for a specific benefit available to community groups or schools.The subsidised generation of renewable energy by community organisations ceased to be a qualifying activity for the Government’s tax-advantaged venture capital schemes from November 30 2015. The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-exclusion-of-energy-generation-from-venture-capital-schemes/income-tax-exclusion-of-energy-generation-from-venture-capital-schemes.The Government has made no further assessment of the impact of this measure on the growth of community energy projects.



Community & School FiT statistics
(Excel SpreadSheet, 23.82 KB)




Exclusion of energy generation impact note
(PDF Document, 36.03 KB)

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to reintroduce pre-registration of Feed-in Tariffs for communities and schools.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: In our 2015 review of the Feed-in Tariff scheme, we determined that reintroducing the tariff guarantee element of pre-registration was not compatible with the wider cost control measures introduced. However, we continue to keep the situation under review.

UK EU Life Sciences Transition Programme Steering Group

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 November (HL Deb, col 1725) concerning the UK EU Life Sciences Steering group, (1) who are the members of the group, (2) when it first met, (3) when further meetings are expected to take place, and (4) with which stakeholders the group have been engaging.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Steering Group is chaired by the chief executives of GSK and AstraZeneca and includes the Wellcome Trust and a range of life sciences trade associations (the Association of British Healthcare Industries, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, BioIndustry Association), representing both large and small UK life sciences companies across the various business areas that make up the sector. The Group’s first meeting was on 6 September and it met again on 23 November with further dates yet to be set. The Group has engaged widely with stakeholders across the UK life sciences sector on subjects including regulation, trade and investment and access to finance.

Business: Government Assistance

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their commitment that any assistance to Nissan would be provided in compliance with state aid and World Trade Organisation rules and kept within current spending limits, whether they will offer similar support to other businesses; and if so, what criteria they will apply in deciding what compensating reductions will be made to ensure that expenditure limits are not breached.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I refer the noble Lord to the statement I made to the House on this matter on 31 October 2016, Official Report, Volume 776.



Hansard - Nissan statement
(PDF Document, 4.09 MB)

Nissan

Lord Kinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, before submitting notice of intention to leave the EU under Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, they will publish the terms of the support and assurances given to Nissan relating to the continuation of their operations in the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I refer the noble Lord to the statement I made to the House on this matter on 31 October 2016, Official Report, Volume 776.



Hansard - Nissan statement
(PDF Document, 4.09 MB)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Burma: Rohingya

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the reports of crimes against humanity in Rakhine state in Burma which have resulted in the estimated deaths of hundreds of the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​The UK Government remains deeply concerned by the situation in Rakhine and the persecution of the Muslim minority Rohingya community. Although the lack of access to Rakhine State makes facts difficult to verify, we are deeply concerned about reports suggesting human rights violations in the security response. We have called for an impartial and independent investigation into the attacks and subsequent security operation, as well as for a full resumption of humanitarian access, as a matter of urgency. The government of Burma has now committed to conducting an independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely. Any judgment on whether crimes under international law, including crimes against humanity, have been committed is a matter for international judicial decision.

Burma: Rohingya

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to reports that Burma has denied basic rights to the Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma to citizenship, marriage, worship, and education.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain deeply concerned about the human rights of the Rohingya community in Burma. The Rohingya continue to suffer from severe restrictions on their access to schools and places of worship. We have previously put on record our concerns about the 1982 Citizenship Law, and the so-called protection of race and religion laws putting restrictions on interfaith marriage. The Government of Burma has taken steps to address the underlying problems in Rakhine State, including by establishing a hybrid Burmese/international Rakhine Advisory Commission, led by Kofi Annan, to provide independent advice on resolving inter-communal tensions.

State Visits

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what visits by international heads of state are actively being considered over the next 12 months.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​In a normal year, we would plan for there to be two to three inward State Visits as well as a number of Guest of Government visits by overseas Heads of State or Government. We do not discuss the details of such visits until invitations have been issued and accepted and any announcement is made by agreement with the visiting Head of State or Government.

Burma: Rohingya

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 14 November (HL2815) and following her meeting with Burma’s Minister of Defence, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, how the government of Burma has responded to their call to show restraint and to restore humanitarian aid and other access to Burma’s Rohingya people.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 14 November (HL2815) and following her meeting with government of Burma, whether they have made any progress in pressing the government of Burma for a full and transparent international inquiry into the plight of Burma’s Rohingya people.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The government of Burma has committed to conducting an independent investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Rakhine State by the security forces in response to an attack by armed Rohingya on 9 October. We understand the Burmese Government is now in the process of setting this up, and we will continue to monitor progress closely. The government of Burma has also committed to restoring humanitarian access. While we have seen a limited resumption of aid in some areas, in practice worrying restrictions on humanitarian access remain. We will continue to press the case for unfettered humanitarian access.

Cabinet Office

Brexit

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been made of the current levels of Civil Service personnel and of their ability to manage the Brexit process.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: The UK is well placed to deal with the challenges, and take advantage of the opportunities, that lie ahead as this nation makes a success of Brexit.The Civil Service is focused on delivering this Government’s commitment to leave the EU and get the very best deal for the UK. We are equipping ourselves with the right people and the right skills across government to make this happen.

Department for International Development

Rwanda: Droughts

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide food aid to those affected by the drought in Eastern Rwanda.

Lord Bates: The Department for International Development is assisting households affected by drought in Eastern Rwanda through our pre-existing agricultural support programme. Our social protection programme also provides direct support to the most vulnerable people in Rwanda, including those affected by the drought. We will continue to engage with the Government of Rwanda and other partners to monitor the food security situation in Eastern Rwanda and assess if further support is required.

Uganda: HIV Infection

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they have assessed the effectiveness of the UK's support for HIV programmes in Uganda; and to what extent they are channelling their efforts through evangelical and other churches in that country.

Lord Bates: DFID supports HIV prevention in Uganda through the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. With support from the Fund, Uganda has successfully reduced new HIV infections from 140,000 in 2010 to less than 100,000 in 2014. 2.5% of the Fund’s work in Uganda is channelled through faith based organisations.

Department for Education

Mental Health Services: Children

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 16 November (HL Deb, col 1417) concerning the pilot project being undertaken by the Department of Health and the Department for Education on a single point of contact in schools for mental health issues, when the scheme started, where it is being piloted, and when it will conclude.

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 16 November (HL Deb, col 1417) concerning the pilot project being undertaken by the Department of Health and the Department for Education on a single point of contact in schools for mental health issues, what is the scope, size and cost of the scheme.

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 16 November (HL Deb, col 1417) concerning the pilot project being undertaken by the Department of Health and the Department for Education on a single point of contact in schools for mental health issues, what criteria will be used to assess whether the scheme should be rolled out further, and which stakeholders will be consulted.

Lord Nash: Good mental health and wellbeing is a key priority for this Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing. NHS England and the Department for Education provided £3million to the joint training pilot to train single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services in 22 pilot areas, across 27 Clinical Commissioning Groups, and 255 schools. The scope of the pilot was to test improvements in joint working between school settings and specialist mental health services to develop and maintain effective local referral routes to specialist services to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where required; improvements in local knowledge and identification of mental health issues; and to test the concept of a lead contact in schools and specialist mental health services and how different areas chose to put it onto practice. The pilot commenced in November 2015 in: Bedfordshire, Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Camden, Chiltern, East and North Hertfordshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Salford, Sheffield, Somerset, South Cheshire, Sunderland, Tameside and Glossop, Tower Hamlets, Walsall, Waltham Forest, West Hampshire and Wigan. It is being independently evaluated. The evaluation findings should be available in spring 2017 and will provide an assessment of the effectiveness of its design and implementation, including success factors for engaging schools and other key stakeholders, and challenges and lessons learned from setting up the pilot, its sustainability and potential for wider rollout. The evaluation will also look at the extent to which the pilot resulted in improvements, including in joint working practices between, and the timeliness and appropriateness of referrals from, schools to specialist mental health services; as well as any wider cultural and systems improvements. We have already shared some of the emerging practice from the pilot through national events, to inform local planning. We will use the formal evaluation findings to determine whether there is value in further roll out of specific training or models of single point of contact, and whether further testing is required of any aspects.

Mental Health: Health Education

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 16 November (HL Deb, col 1417) concerning PSHE guidance on mental health teaching, what resources and training are available to schools and teachers for mental health education and training.

Lord Nash: Good mental health is a priority for the Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential, both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing. Schools have an important role to play in supporting the mental health of children, and young people and providing good personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) is one way schools can do this. PSHE education is a non-statutory subject that can encompass many areas of study. It equips pupils with the knowledge and skills to make safe and informed decisions and to prepare them for adult life. Through the introduction to the national curriculum, we have made clear that all schools should make provision for PSHE. The Government’s current approach is for schools to develop their own local PSHE programme to reflect the needs of their pupils, drawing on the resources and evidence provided by expert organisations. Schools also should decide what training their staff need, reflecting their individual circumstances, and we trust head teachers to ensure that the right training is available for all school staff. Teachers, and other school staff, can access free on-line e-learning modules on a wide range of mental health issues, through the MindEd website, https://www.minded.org.uk. In addition, we funded the PSHE Association to produce guidance on teaching about mental health in PSHE. This was published in March 2015. To get a clear picture of what schools are doing on mental health and inform further action, we are conducting a large survey asking schools what activities and support they have put in place. The results will be published spring 2017.

Art History: GCE A-level

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 3 November (HL Deb, col 844), whether there have been any further developments concerning the future of Art History A-level.

Lord Nash: On 1 December 2016, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister of State for School Standards made a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) stating that the exam board, Pearson, has confirmed its intention to take forward development of an A level in History of Art. The WMS has been attached to this answer.Pearson’s aim is that the new A level will be available for first teaching from September 2017. Students currently studying the existing qualification are unaffected.



Written Ministerial Statement 
(Word Document, 15.85 KB)

Higher Education

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a report will be published from the call for evidence on accelerated courses and switching university or degree.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government is planning to publish a summary of the key findings in due course.

European Union: Education

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 24 November (HL3233) concerning EU information to schools and other educational establishments, what action they plan to take to monitor and enforce the requirement for balanced treatment in educational establishments of political issues, including the UK's membership of the EU.

Lord Nash: All schools are required to teach about political issues in a balanced way. Sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 require maintained schools to prevent political indoctrination and ensure the balanced treatment of political issues. Academies have parallel requirements through their funding agreements, and independent schools have parallel requirements through the independent school standards. As part of Ofsted school inspections, inspectors will consider the breadth and balance of a school’s curriculum, the quality of teaching and how the school promotes pupils’ acceptance and engagement with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different beliefs. If inspectors identify that provision for pupils is unbalanced, including in relation to political matters, this will be reflected in the outcome of the inspection. If anyone has a concern that a schools is failing in a duty they can take this up through the school’s complaints procedure and if they are not satisfied, escalate the complaint to the Secretary of State who has powers to intervene if schools are failing to comply with legal requirements.

Apprentices: Social Enterprises

Lord Bird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support social enterprise training providers to improve social mobility through apprenticeship programmes.

Lord Nash: We are committed to ensuring that apprenticeships are as accessible as possible to all people from all backgrounds. We are increasing numbers of traineeships to further support young people, including those from areas of disadvantage, into apprenticeships and further work. We are also encouraging a wide range of people from all backgrounds into apprenticeships through our ‘Get In Go Far’ campaign aimed at 14-24 year-olds, their parents, teachers and employers.In the apprenticeship funding policy published in October, we announced extra payments for 16-18 year olds and 19-24 year olds formerly in care or with an Education, Health and Care Plan. Employers and providers will receive a payment of £1,000 to support additional costs associated with these apprentices. Additionally, the Government will make an additional payment to providers for training an apprentice who lives in an area amongst the 27% most deprived. The payments will be £600 for areas amongst the 1-10% most deprived, £300 for the next 11-20%, and £200 for the next 21-27%. These payments will be in place for one year while we review the system for supporting people from disadvantaged backgrounds.We want all types of employers and providers to benefit from this funding including social enterprise providers who can help make it easier for businesses to employ people from disadvantaged backgrounds.In addition, the Government already pays £150 a month to providers where an apprentice with a learning difficulty or disability requires additional learning support. We are also trialling a two year project worth £2 million per year tailoring Access to Work support to apprentices with mental health problems in the workplace.We are committed to ensuring apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities find apprenticeships as accessible as possible, which is why the Government accepted all of the recommendations made by Paul Maynard’s taskforce earlier this year – and why we’re working to implement them now.

Archaeology: GCE A-level

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are having discussions with examination boards about the possible continuation of the Archaeology A-level.

Lord Nash: Departmental officials have discussed this matter with the exam board and it is for individual boards to decide which qualifications to offer. It is disappointing that no board has come forward to develop a new A-level in archaeology for teaching from 2017. The option for an exam board to develop qualifications in this subject in future will remain open. Archaeology A-level is not a pre-requisite for degree level study in the subject, and it is taken by a small number of students – 340 in 2015/16.

Ofqual: Finance

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the source of funding for Ofqual; whether it levies fees and charges; and if so, (1) under what authority, (2) against whom, and (3) what mechanisms there are for challenging the level of those fees and charges.

Lord Nash: This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the Noble Peer.A copy of her reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Ministry of Justice

Road Traffic Offences: Mobile Phones

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been prosecuted or cautioned for using a mobile phone whilst driving in each year since 2010.

Lord Keen of Elie: The number of offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for using or causing others to use a mobile phone while driving, in England and Wales, from 2010 to 2015 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.Offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for using or causing others to use a mobile phone while driving (1), England and wales, 2010 to 2015 (2)(3)   Outcome201020112012201320142015   Cautioned------   Proceeded against35,25531,39024,41419,65017,43117,586   '-' = Nil (1) Offences under RR 110 (1) - 110 (3) of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986   (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of or been cautioned for two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.   (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.This information can be found in the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2015 publication, which is available on gov.uk.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Radio Frequencies

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 17 November (HL3043), whether a contingency plan for the Programme Making and Special Events sector exists; if not, when they will start to draft a contingency plan; and which stakeholders will be consulted as the contingency plan is compiled.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: Analysis has shown that enough spectrum has been made available for PMSE to meet all demand. It is, therefore, up to industry to decide how they work within the constraints of the allocated spectrum and to plan their events accordingly.

Radio Frequencies

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 17 November (HL3046), what has been the reaction of the French, German and Dutch regulators to the representations made by Ofcom; and what further discussions they will be having with other European countries to ensure that future spectrum allocations do not have unintended consequences for the Programme Making and Special Events sector.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: At the current time, other European countries believe there will be enough capacity within the 470-694MHz band to meet the requirements of the Programme Making & Special Events industry so, other than the UK, there are currently no plans in other countries to allocate alternative spectrum for PMSE.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobcentre Plus: Training

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 24 June 2015 (HL542), when the guidance referred to in that Answer was published and what steps have been taken to ensure all members of Jobcentre Plus staff are aware of it.

Lord Freud: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) policy is to develop its staff in the skills and knowledge required to support a range of claimants sensitively and to respect their individual needs.  The Department for Work and Pensions published the Human Trafficking guidance on 15th January 2016. The latest amendment to the guidance was made on 8th November 2016. The instructions were published on the Customer Service A-Z homepage and communicated as part of monthly intranet updates. These instructions are available to any member of staff who is told, or suspects, that the customer they are dealing with is a victim of human trafficking.

Poverty

Lord Bird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to involve children and young people in any initiatives to tackle the root causes of poverty.

Lord Freud: The Prime Minister is clear that tackling poverty and disadvantage, and delivering real social reform, is a priority for this Government. We intend to bring forward a social justice green paper in the New Year. As is customary with the development of any green paper, we are engaging in discussions with a range of organisations and individual experts.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Oilseed Rape: Neonicotinoids

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why farmers have been permitted to apply neonicotinoid pesticides to oilseed rape as a spray but not as a seed dressing.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: There are five pesticide active substances that are classed as neonicotinoids. Three of these are subject to EU restrictions which mean that they may not be used on oilseed rape, irrespective of the method of application. The remaining two active substances (acetamiprid and thiacloprid) are not subject to these restrictions and so may be used on oilseed rape. There are UK products which contain these two active substances and are authorised for use on oilseed rape. All of these are formulated as sprays. There is no prohibition preventing acetamiprid and thiacloprid from being formulated as seed treatments for use on oilseed rape. No such products are currently authorised in the UK; if applications were to be received, they would be authorised if they met the normal requirements for safety to people and to the environment.

Hill Farming: Lake District

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the contribution by hill farmers in the Lake District to preserving and improving the environment.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Hill farming is crucial to maintaining the Lake District’s environment and landscape and is a vital part of our national heritage. Management of grazing plays an important part in preserving the Lake District’s environment, which is home to extensive areas of significant and rare habitat, internationally important rivers and lakes, and key sources of drinking water for the cities of the north west. Currently 1,000 agreement holders are working in partnership with Natural England through Environmental Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship schemes; this amounts to 75% of the farmed area of the Lake District. More than £11m of public money is being invested through these schemes, which are enabling farmers to manage 78,000ha of moorland and to restore features which are part of the farmed landscape. Internal monitoring of these schemes shows that hill farmers have made a contribution to improving the environment on some fells by adopting more environmentally sustainable grazing practices.

Hill Farming: Lake District

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the contribution of hill farmers in the Lake District to the welfare and long-term conservation of heritage sheep breeds.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government recognises the valuable contribution of hill farmers in ensuring the well-being and survival of heritage sheep breeds in the Lake District. Long traditions of shepherding and sheep such as Herdwicks and Rough Fells are part of the distinctive culture and landscape of the Lakes.

Home Office

Immigration Controls

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are giving consideration to the establishment of variable immigration rules to take account of the specific needs of the agricultural and food production sectors.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guarantees of the right to remain will be given to EU citizens living in the UK and working in the agricultural and food production sectors after Brexit.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme and Sectors Based Scheme for agricultural and food production sectors were closed at the end of 2013 when the transitional employment restrictions applied to nationals of Bulgaria and Romania were lifted. Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force.There are a number of options as to how EU migration might work once we have left. We are about to begin these negotiations and it would be wrong to set out further positions in advance. At every step of these negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people.The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in European member states were not protected in return.

Entry Clearances

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many entry clearance visa applications have been received in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many entry clearance visas have been granted in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The information requested for the latest 12 months available is published in table vi_01_q (visa data tables volume 1) in ‘Immigration Statistics, April - June 2016’, available from the GOV.UK website.In the year ending June 2016, there were 2,866,872 entry clearance visa applications (including visitors and those on transit visas). Over the same period there were 2,457,977 grants. These figures include main applicants and dependants.

Terrorism: Stop and Search

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many arrests have been made as a result of the exercise of powers to stop and search under the Terrorism Act 2006 in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Police stop and search powers are provided for within the following Sections of the Terrorism Act (2000): 43 (search of persons), 43a (search of vehicles) and 47a (authorisations to search persons and vehicles without suspicion within a specified area).Searching of persons and vehicles without suspicion has not been used by police forces in Great Britain since March 2011 and the Home Office does not collate or collect data on vehicle searches. The Home Office collects data on searches of persons from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The number of people arrested by the MPS following stop and search was:• 23 in the year 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014;• 33 in the year 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015; and• 64 in the year to 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.Further information can be found in the Home Office Quarterly Statistical Bulletin, including data relating to stop and search powers. The most recent was published on 22 September 2016. It can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/collection/counter-terrorism-statistics.

Universities: Standards

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 November (HL2631), how they define "best"; and which universities they claim to be "best".

Baroness Williams of Trafford: There is no limit on the number of genuine international students who can come to the study to UK. We are considering what more we can do to strengthen the system to support the best universities — and those that stick to the rules — to attract the best talent.

Refugees

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will select the refugees coming to the UK as part of the Government's pledge to welcome 20,000 refugees by May 2020.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The UK sets the criteria and then United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies and submits potential cases for our consideration. Cases are screened and considered on the papers and we retain the right to reject on security, war crimes or other grounds.

Refugees: English Language

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that English language tuition is available in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the Greek islands to assist those coming to the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: UNHCR counsel refugees before they are resettled under the Government’s resettlement schemes. Additional advice is also provided through cultural orientation sessions with practical information about life in the UK and rights and responsibilities. Those arriving in the UK are provided with English language lessons by their receiving local authority.

Refugees: Employment

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to revise their immigration policy so that refugees welcomed to the UK are able immediately to earn a living.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Under our current immigration policy all those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK or resettled under one of our resettlement schemes have immediate access to the labour market.

Refugees

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 November (HL3027), how many persons have been admitted to the UK so far in 2016 under the Mandate resettlement scheme for refugees; and what plans they have to enhance the effectiveness of this scheme.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Mandate plays an important part in facilitating the resettlement of refugees in various locations across the world. The referral of cases under Mandate is dependent on UNHCR identifying cases which meet its criteria. The number of people resettled under the Mandate scheme is reported in the quarterly immigration statistics.We continually review processes to ensure Mandate cases are processed as effectively as possible.

Refugees: Syria

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 1 December (HL3335), and in the light of the inclusion in the vulnerability criteria of persons at risk due to their sexual orientation, how they determine whether people are being accepted into the scheme because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; and how the application of the vulnerability criteria relating to sexual orientation is audited and validated.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We are clear that our scheme will prioritise the most vulnerable refugees, and that is why under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for resettlement using its established vulnerability criteria. The seven vulnerability criteria used by the UNHCR are Legal and or Physical Protection Needs; Survivors of Torture and/or Violence; Medical Needs; Women and Girls at Risk; Family Reunification; Children and Adolescents at Risk and Lack of Foreseeable Alternative Durable Solutions.Persons who are at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity are usually referred for resettlement using the category “Legal and Physical Protection Needs”, however they can also be referred under one of the other categories if more applicable. We are working with the UNHCR and other partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register for fear of stigma or discrimination and who may be unaware of the options available to them.

Supreme Court: Security

Lord Kinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are satisfied that, in co-operation with the Metropolitan Police, they have made adequate arrangements to safeguard public order and security in the vicinity of the Supreme Court when members of the Court are giving attention to, and announcing their judgement upon, the issues relating to the notification of the intention to leave the EU under Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The role of the police in managing demonstrations is to preserve the peace, to uphold the law and to prevent the commission of offences. Police tactics and decisions on how to achieve these objectives are a matter for the independent operational judgement of chief officers of police.The Metropolitan Police Service has a proportionate policing plan in place to maintain public order in the vicinity of the Supreme Court for the duration of the hearing of the Article 50 case.

Ministry of Defence

Weapons

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to establish a group of government experts at the forthcoming Review Conference on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons to consider what legal agreements are required for the management and control of the development of virtual autonomous weapons systems and the necessary level of human control for compliance with international law.

Earl Howe: The decision to establish a Group of Government Experts (GGE) to discuss the issue of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems will be taken by consensus by all High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. The UK supports of the formation of a GGE subject to agreement on the mandate for such a group.

Weapons

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the threat to UK interests of the development of virtual autonomous weapons systems across the world; and what part effective international regulation could play in controlling the development of such systems.

Earl Howe: The Government of the United Kingdom does not possess fully autonomous weapon systems and have no intention of developing them. Such systems are not yet in existence and are not likely to be for many years, if at all. The UK believes that international law, in particular, international humanitarian law, remains the correct framework for governing the use of all weapons systems, including fully autonomous ones.

HM Treasury

Economic Growth: Forecasts

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the growth forecasts made by the Office for Budget Responsibility since 2010; and what assessment they have made of the accuracy of each of those forecasts.

Lord Young of Cookham: The Office for Budget Responsibilities (OBR) forecasts for the economy and public finances are available in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook publications. The OBR regularly publishes Forecast Evaluation Reports, in which they compare their forecasts to subsequent outturns and explain any forecast errors.

Debts

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address the level of household debt, the rate at which it is increasing, and the multiple it represents of annual household income.

Lord Young of Cookham: In Q2 2016 household debt relative to income fell to 142%, down from its peak of 160 percent in Q1 2008. Unsecured debt as a proportion of household income was 39 per cent in Q2 2016, down from a peak of 44 percent in Q1 2007. The government recognises that there is more to be done to help those in problem debt. The Money Advice Service (MAS), an arms-length body of the Treasury coordinates the provision of publicly-funded free to client debt advice. In 2015-2016 MAS had a £75m budget and in that financial year made 300,000 money guidance sessions and 380,000 debt advice sessions available to consumers. In October 2016 the government announced plans to bring publicly-funded debt advice, money guidance, and pensions guidance together in a single guidance body, responsible for providing impartial, free-to-client guidance and for promoting financial capability. Additionally, we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee within the Bank of England, to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole, including in relation to household debt, are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

Northern Ireland Office

Stormont House Agreement

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether all the provisions of A Fresh Start: The Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan signed in November 2015 have been put into effect.

Lord Dunlop: The Fresh Start Agreement has contributed to greater stability in Northern Ireland than has been known for some time. Good progress has been made on its implementation, including the delivery of legislation on welfare reform and steps towards establishing the Independent Reporting Commission on paramilitary activity. The Government is working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government, in accordance with the three-stranded approach, to deliver the outstanding commitments. This includes further steps to tackle paramilitary activity, financial reforms to support the devolution of powers over the corporation tax rate, and continuing work to build consensus for the creation of the new institutions on the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past as the process moves into a more public phase. A meeting to review progress is scheduled for 14 December.

Department of Health

In Vitro Fertilisation

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent study by Oxford University into in vitro fertilisation "add-on" procedures that are routinely offered by private fertility clinics in the UK, which showed that the vast majority of extra treatments offered by private clinics had no rigorous scientific evidence from trials to suggest they improve the chance of conceiving a child through in vitro fertilisation.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has the power to stop private fertility clinics from offering additional in vitro fertilisation treatments which are not scientifically proven to be effective and could be putting women’s health at risk; and what remedies will be open to those who are adversely affected.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who, besides the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, has the power to regulate private fertility clinics in the UK.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Neither the Department nor the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) have yet made an assessment of the recent study from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine published on 28 November 2016. The HFEA has advised that it has become increasingly concerned about fertility clinics offering a range of treatment add-ons. The HFEA has the same regulatory powers for both private and National Health Service clinics, however, it has limited powers over treatment add-ons, that may not fall within the remit of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1991 (1990 Act). The HFEA does have broad powers relating to the provision of information to patients, and for some time its website has published information on reproductive immunology and preimplantation genetic screening. The new HFEA website, which will be launched in spring 2017, will provide clear information about the evidence base of a wide range of treatment add-ons, highlighting their effectiveness or potential harm, so that patients are able to make informed decisions about their treatment. The HFEA is the national regulator for fertility treatments and services that come within the regulatory framework established by the 1990 Act. Private fertility clinics may need to register with other regulatory bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission, if they carry out any activities that fall within that body’s statutory remit.

Health Professions: Training

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Brexit on the bursary proposals for healthcare students; and whether they intend to revise their assessment of the impact of those bursary proposals in the light of Brexit.

Lord Prior of Brampton: There are no plans to revise the published economic impact assessment and equalities analysis to take account of Brexit. The Department of Health is working with the Department for Exiting the European Union (EU) to ensure that the needs of health and social care providers and those in need of health and social care services are taken into account as we exit from the EU. In October 2016, the Department for Education confirmed that EU students will remain eligible to apply for the standard student loan package and this will not change during their course if the Government triggers Brexit during the next few years. As part of implementing the healthcare education funding reforms, the Government will monitor student application rates, characteristics and overall workforce supply.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Baroness Fall: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of children and young people referred to child and adolescent mental health services in England were not allocated a service in 2015–16; and what proportion of the cases in which a service was not allocated resulted from (1) lack of available trained staff, (2) lack of funding, and (3) both.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This information is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Baroness Fall: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average waiting time for children and young people who were referred to child and adolescent mental health services in England in 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Baroness Fall: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of Tier 4 inpatients' beds are within one hour’s drive from the place of referral.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This information is not collected centrally.

Abortion

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government for which specific conditions terminations under section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967, either alone or in conjunction with other paragraphs of subsection 1(1), were performed in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how many terminations were performed for each condition; and at which week of pregnancy those terminations were performed.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The data requested can be found in published format within the annual Abortion Statistics produced each year. Information is collected from the abortion notification for HSA4 which is submitted to the Chief Medical Officer. Due to the size of the data, the information requested is shown in the attached tables. For the year 2011 we only have data for gestations 24 weeks and over.



HL3676 DATA
(Excel SpreadSheet, 90.96 KB)

Abortion

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of section (1)(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967 on the mental health and wellbeing of people living with a disability.

Lord Prior of Brampton: No such assessment has been made.

Mental Health Services

Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask Her Majesty’s Governmenthow many referrals to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme were recorded as ended in each clinical commissioning group area in each year since 2010, (1) in total, and (2) which related to people who were assessed as meeting caseness.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The number of referrals to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies in each clinical commissioning group (CCG) since 2010 in total, is published and available from the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies dataset held by NHS Digital. Table 1 covers Referrals received, entering treatment, and finishing a course of treatment in the year, 2015-16, counts, by clinical commissioning group. A copy is attached.The number of referrals to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies recorded as ended in each CCG, in each year, since 2010 which related to people who were assessed as meeting ‘caseness’ is not available in the format requested. CCGs only existed since 1 April 2013. The number of people who completed treatment who were initially at ‘caseness’ is published, but not the number of those whose treatment was recorded as ended.



HL3699 TABLE 1
(Excel SpreadSheet, 215 KB)

Mental Health Services

Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme moved to recovery after completing (1) only high intensity treatment, (2) only low intensity treatment, and (3) both, in each clinical commissioning group area in each year since 2010.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Information is not available in the requested format.

Mental Health Services

Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme reliably improved after receiving (1) only high intensity treatment, (2) only low intensity treatment, and (3) both, in each clinical commissioning group area in each year since 2010.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Information is not available in the requested format.

Nurses: Apprentices

Lord Clark of Windermere: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they had with universities providing graduate courses in nursing, prior to announcing plans for new degree-level nurse apprenticeships.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Nursing Degree Apprenticeship Standard was developed by an employer-led Trailblazer Group whose membership includes health and social care employers, university and college representatives, the Council of Deans of Health and Government representatives. The Government announced approval of the Nursing Degree Apprentice Standard on 30 November. The Trailblazer Group continues to have a role in working with universities in preparation for the delivery phase of the apprentice standard.

Mental Illness: Children and Young People

Baroness Fall: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish a full update of the 2004 Office for National Statistics prevalence study of mental health problems in children and young people.

Lord Prior of Brampton: A new national prevalence survey of children and young people’s health has been commissioned with publication due in 2018.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Baroness Fall: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of patients who are children and young people admitted under Tier 4 do not make a recovery.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This information is not collected centrally.

Down's Syndrome

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' submission to the UK National Screening Committee concerning the case for making a rigorous analysis of the lifetime costs of caring for children and adults with Down's Syndrome.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The cost analysis considered by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) related solely to providing choice and did not take into account the lifetime costs of caring for children and adults with Down’s syndrome. Thirty stakeholders responded to the UK NSC’s consultation, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The UK NSC considered carefully all the responses to the consultation. However, as is standard practice there are no plans to respond to individual representations.

Pregnancy: Screening

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 22 November (HL3127), how the UK National Screening Committee, in making its recommendation on 15 January that non-invasive prenatal testing be approved, formally considered the write up from the roundtable discussion held by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on 18 January.

Lord Prior of Brampton: At its 19 November 2015 meeting, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommended that non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for Down’s, Edwards’ and Patau’s syndromes should be introduced as an additional test into the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme as part of an evaluation. The UK NSC held a three month public consultation on the GOV.UK website before making its recommendation. At its meeting in November 2015, the UK NSC reviewed all the responses to the consultation, including the ethical concerns raised before making its recommendation. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) subsequently convened a roundtable in January 2016 to discuss clinical, ethical, social, legal and policy issues raised by recent developments in wider non-invasive prenatal diagnosis, testing and screening. The meeting was attended by 31 people, including healthcare professionals, academic researchers, policy makers, representatives of charities and patient groups, as well as members and officers of the UK NSC, including its ethicist. Following the roundtable, the NCOB set up a working group in March 2016 to consider the ethical issues that would be raised by introducing NIPT into the National Health Service antenatal screening programme. The UK NSC formally considered the NCOB’s write up of the roundtable at its meeting on 15 June 2016. In accordance with its terms of reference and as part of the ongoing evaluation the UK NSC will consider any significant new peer reviewed evidence, so will consider the report from the NCOB alongside any other new evidence when it becomes available.

Pregnancy: Screening

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the assessment by the Nuffield Centre for Bioethics of the ethical implications of the introduction of the new non-invasive prenatal test to be completed.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Nuffield Council on Bioethics plans to publish the findings of its project on non-invasive prenatal testing in March 2017.

Pregnancy: Screening

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the NHS is being, or will be, charged for the use of non-invasive prenatal testing technology by technology providers; and if so, what is their estimate of the annual cost to the NHS of such charges.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England (PHE) is working through the procurement and the evaluative roll out process for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for Down’s, Edwards’ and Patau’s syndromes. It is estimated that the test will cost £200-300 per test and PHE has estimated that approximately 10,000 tests will take place per year. The overall cost is expected to be cost-neutral with less invasive procedures being undertaken.

Pregnancy: Screening

Lord Shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 22 November (HL3127), and in the light of the failure by the Secretary of State for Health to respond to the request by Lord Shinkwin of 8 March 2016 to meet with him, people with Down’s Syndrome and their representatives to discuss their concerns about the impact of the new non-invasive pregnancy test on abortion rates of unborn babies diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome, what is their response to that request.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Ministers plan to meet stakeholders in the coming months to discuss concerns about the introduction of new technologies such as non-invasive prenatal testing which have the potential to increase the safety of screening tests.

Infant Mortality

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take regarding the multi-agency guidelines for care and investigation relating to sudden unexpected deaths in infancy and childhood produced by a working group convened by The Royal College of Pathologists and The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and chaired by Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department is currently working with NHS England, NHS Improvement and Public Health England to improve identification of preventable child deaths, with the aim to reduce child mortality in this country.The first aspect of the work will be the development of a National Child Death Database.A second strand, aimed at ensuring good quality data for the database, is the production of a set of multi-agency guidelines for care and investigation for all child deaths, including sudden unexpected deaths in infancy and childhood.Key stakeholders are being consulted in the development of the National Child Death Database and the guidelines reviewing the local child death review process. This will include liaising with the working group convened by the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health chaired by Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws.